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REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE 


ON  THE 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  HANCOCK  HOUSE. 


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FDimalSohnM  Bmreb  ^  ^  30No’l7  ^  fvi.  Pa 


CITY  OF  BOSTON. 


In  Board  of  Aldermen ,  May  18,  1863. 

Ordered  :  That  Alderman  Amory,  Denio,  and  Tyler,  with 
such  as  the  Common  Council  may  join,  be  a  Joint  Special  Com¬ 
mittee  to  consider  the  expediency  of  any  measures  for  the  pres¬ 
ervation  of  the  Hancock  House,  in  Beacon  Street. 

Sent  down  for  concurrence. 

THOMAS  C.  AMORY,  Jr.,  Chairman. 

In  Common  Council ,  May  21,  1863. 

Concurred ;  and  Messrs.  Carpenter,  Mears,  Bradlee,  Fisher, 
and  Bird  were  joined. 

GEORGE  S.  HALE,  President. 

Approved,  May  22,  1863. 

F.  W.  LINCOLN,  Jr.,  Mayor . 


|°  472 


CITY  OF  BOSTON. 


In  Common  Council ,  June  3,  1863. 

Your  Committee,  charged  to  consider  the  propriety  of  some 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  City  Government  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Hancock  House,  now  about  to  be  demolished  or  removed 
from  its  site  on  Beacon  Hill,  submit  the  following 

REPORT. 

We  have  all  of  us  observed,  with  regret,  events  in  progress, 
forcing  upon  the  consideration  of  the  City  Council,  what  would 
more  properly  have  devolved  upon  the  State  Legislature.  That 
body  has  not  taken  any  action  which  promises  to  prove  effective 
for  its  preservation,  and  if  this  interesting  historical  monument 
is  destined  to  perish,  we  should  be  able  to  satisfy  our  constit¬ 
uents,  that  no  reasonable  exertions  were  omitted,  on  our  part, 
to  prevent  it. 

The  family,  now  about  to  convey  the  estate  to  others,  have 
placed  it  in  our  power  to  remove  the  house,  so  that  it  may  be 
preserved  to  future  times  at  little  cost ;  and  they  propose  to 
transmit  with  it  portraits  and  other  valuable  mementos  of  Gov¬ 
ernor  Hancock,  to  give  it  character  and  interest.  Their  gener¬ 
ous  proposal  to  consecrate  to  the  public,  paintings  of  much  his¬ 
torical  and  artistic  value,  which,  from  their  sacred  associations, 
must  also  be  very  precious  to  themselves,  claims  from  their  fel¬ 
low-citizens  the  warmest  acknowledgments.  The  following 
communication,  which  we  have  received  from  a  member  of  the 
family,  sufficiently  expresses  their  intention  :  — 


6 


CITY  DOCUMENT.  — No.  56. 


30  Beacon  Street,  May  23,  1863. 

Thomas  C.  Amory,  Jr.,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Pres¬ 
ervation  of  the  Hancock  House. 

9 

The  undersigned,  in  behalf  of  the  heirs,  begs  leave  to  offer,  as  a  gift 
to  the  City  of  Boston,  the  Hancock  Mansion  in  Beacon  Street,  the  pic¬ 
tures,  and  some  other  objects  of  historical  interest  now  in  the  house. 
It  is  the  wish  of  the  donors,  in  making  this  offer,  that  the  house  should 
be  preserved  as  a  memento  of  our  colonial  and  revolutionary  history. 

Respectfully,  CHARLES  L.  HANCOCK. 

It  is  proposed  that  the  building  shall  be  adorned  not  only 
with  these  historical  portraits,  but  with  other  Revolutionary 
relics,  which  from  time  to  time  may  be  contributed  from  other 
sources,  to  keep  in  remembrance  our  heroic  epoch. 

To  all  familiar  with  our  early  national  annals,  it  will  seem 
superfluous  to  offer  fresh  tribute  to  the  memorable  name  of 
Hancock.  The  distinguished  part  he  took  in  the  events  that 
made  of  the  alienated  colonies  of  Great  Britian  a  powerful, 
free,  and  for  so  many  years  a  united  people,  will  not  be  readily 
forgotten.  Boston’s  most  affluent  and  most  honored  merchant, 
with  everything  to  expect  from,  and  much  to  attach  him  to  the  ex¬ 
isting  monarchical  rule,  and  with  the  most  powerful  inducements 
in  his  wealth  and  station  to  avoid  the  hazards  and  perils  of  re¬ 
bellion,  he  was  one  of  the  earliest,  most  fearless,  self-sacrificing  of 
the  patriots.  His  example  of  generous  devotion,  in  that  period 
of  discouragement  and  gloom,  incited  the  timid  and  wavering,  and 
was  invaluable  to  success.  That  he  richly  merited  the  general 
confidence,  and  the  prominent  position  which  he  was  called 
upon  to  occupy,  is  an  inference  natural  and  conclusive  from  the 
character  of  his  associates.  He  would  neither  have  been  se¬ 
lected  as  President  of  the  Provincial  Congress  here  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  nor  for  so  many  years  of  fearful  responsibility  presided 
over  that  of  the  continent,  had  he  not  possessed  the  requisite 
endowments.  We  have  the  evidence  of  his  most  respected  con¬ 
temporaries,  we  have  proof  in  his  subsequent  re-election  in  1785 


7 


HANCOCK  HOUSE. 

to  the  same  high  office,  that  he  was  not  wanting  in  any  quality 
of  mind  or  character,  which  could  entitle  him  to  so  proud  a  pre¬ 
eminence. 

Men  of  professional  training  in  their  written  remains,  military 
geniuses  by  their  campaigns  and  victories,  leave  behind  them 
marks  of  their  active  participation  in  critical  periods.  But  the 
services  rendered  to  society,  in  moments  of  doubt  and  calamity, 
by  personages  of  large  social  influence,  sagacity,  and  public 
spirit,  are  often  quite  as  important,  and  should  be  as  gratefully 
remembered.  What  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  pen  of 
Hancock  is  creditable  to  his  ability ;  his  historical  actions  are 
sufficiently  conspicuous ;  but  his  principal  hold  upon  the  hearts 
of  his  countrymen  must  be  attributed  to  his  unswerving  loyalty 
to  free  institutions,  to  his  fearless  disregard  of  personal  conse¬ 
quences,  and  the  cheerful  contribution  of  his  means  to  secure 
our  independence. 

His  claims  to  be  especially  remembered  by  the  people  of  Bos¬ 
ton,  or  Massachusetts,  rest  not  alone  upon  national  grounds. 
His  long  connection  with  municipal  affairs,  his  official  position 
as  the  first  chief  magistrate  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  his  con¬ 
tinuance  in  the  executive  chair  so  long  as  he  lived,  except  for  a 
short  period,  when  called  upon  a  second  time  to  preside  over  the 
Continental  Congress,  indicate  the  place  which  he  occupied  in 
their  affection  and  confidence.  This  is  no  place  to  enumerate 
at  length  the  noble  traits  of  his  character,  or  the  public  services 
to  which  he  owed  his  elevation.  Nor  is  it  necessary,  for  they 
are  as  household  words  even  to  this  distant  generation. 

It  would  not  have  been  natural  had  he  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
avoid  all  mistakes,  to  have  escaped  all  enmities.  It  is  not  even 
now  to  be  expected,  that  those  who  differ  from  his  political  opin¬ 
ions  should  cherish  his  memory  as  zealously  as  those  whose  views 
of  public  policy  coincided  with  his  own.  There  were  many  who 
regarded  his  pretensions  as  a  candidate  for  the  chief  magistracy 
of  the  nation,  as  next  to  those  of  Washington.  The  friends  of 
Mr.  Adams,  the  successful  competitor,  naturally  did  what  was 


8 


CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  56. 


in  their  power  to  prevent  his  being  selected.  Similar  rivalries 
and  disappointments  estranged  from  him  other  statesmen  of  his 
day,  and  the  ashes  are  still  warm  with  smouldering  resent¬ 
ments.  But  his  services  to  the  country  were  too  substantial, 
his  historical  career  too  illustrious,  for  his  memory  to  be  in  this 
way  seriously  prejudiced.  If  disinterested  devotion  to  the  pub¬ 
lic  does  not  always  secure  either  power  or  place,  it  should  and 
usually  is  able  to  gain  the  esteem  of  future  times.  Whatever 
tribute  we  may  pay  to  James  Otis  or  Joseph  Hawley,  to  Samuel 
Adams  or  John  Hancock,  will  but  lessen  the  debt  of  gratitude, 
which  we  owe  them  for  services  rendered  to  the  State.,  We 
honor  the  noble  efforts,  which  we  trust  have  rescued  the  home 
of  Washington  from  decay.  We  would  still  pay  homage  to 
the  Pinckneys  and  Marion,  to  Hamilton  and  Greene.  But 
we  have  little  faith  in  that  patriotism,  which  sacrifices  our  own 
great  memories  to  those  of  other  States. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that  the  recommendation  of  Gov¬ 
ernor  Banks,  in  1859,  that  the  Legislature  should  purchase  the 
estate,  as  a  permanent  residence  for  the  Governors  of  Massachu¬ 
setts,  had  not  been  carried  out.  Where  the  chief  magistrate  is 
selected  from  a  remote  part  of  the  State,  it  is  desirable  that  he 
should  be  tempted  and  find  it  convenient  to  remain  a  large  por¬ 
tion  of  his  time  at  the  capital.  The  public  business  requires  it, 
and  the  accommodations  of  a  public  house  are  not  in  character 
with  the  dignity  and  privacy  of  high  official  station.  The  building 
though  sufficiently  commodious,  being  of  moderate  dimensions, 
would  have  necessarily  involved  little  expense  for  housekeep- 
ing,  and  could  not  have  subjected  him  to  the  obligation  of 
costly  entertainments,  for  which,  in  its  present  reduced  di¬ 
mensions,  it  is  wholly  unsuited.  By  making  the  office  of  the 
chief  magistracy  equally  convenient  for  eminent  citizens  from  all 
parts  of  the  State,  this  appropriation  of  the  property  would  have 
been  in  correspondence  with  that  provision  of  the  Constitution, 
which  secures  equal  rights  to  all  who  are  candidates  for  office. 
The  present  accommodation  at  the  State  House  for  the  business 


I 


HANCOCK  HOUSE. 


9 


of  the  State  is  contracted,  and  each  year,  with  our  natural  develop¬ 
ment  and  accumulating  archives,  becomes  more  disproportionate 
to  the  public  want.  Had  the  property  been  purchased  and  not 
proved  of  use  as  an  official  residence,  it  would  have  supplied 
some  other  necessity  of  the  public  service,  to  be  provided  at  a 
future  day  far  less  conveniently  and  economically. 

There  were  other  reasons  why  the  State,  in  our  estimation, 
should  have  seized  the  opportunity  presented  of  possessing 
this  ancient  edifice  on  its  present  site.  It  is  well  known  that 
it  was  the  intention  of  Governor  Hancock  to  give  the  whole 
property,  embracing  the  State  House  grounds  and  extending  to 
Joy  Street  on  the  west,  and  Derne  Street  to  the  north,  to  the 
State  for  executive  purposes.  The  minutes  for  his  will  to  this 
effect  were  under  his  pillow  when  he  died.  The  estate  which 
he  had  inherited  from  his  uncle  was  still  very  considerable ; 
his  only  child  had  accidentally  perished ;  and  he  could  make 
this  disposition  of  his  mansion-house  estate  without  disap¬ 
pointing  the  just  expectations  of  his  nephews,  who  were  his 
natural  heirs.  The  year  after  his  decease,  that  part  of  the 
domain  now  occupied  for  the  State  House  was  purchased  of  his 
family  by  the  citizens  of  Boston,  who  gave  it  to  the  State  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  government. 

When  the  nephew  died,  in  1859,  the  family  offered  the 
Legislature  the  property  then  remaining  to  them,  at  a  price  of 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  A  resolve  was  passed  author¬ 
izing  its  purchase,  provided  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Gov¬ 
ernor,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  the  Attorney- 
General,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  and  Auditor,  deemed  it  ex¬ 
pedient.  There  was  some  delay  in  perfecting  the  title,  and 
the  opportunity  was  allowed  to  pass  unimproved.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  General  Court,  at  its  last  session,  had  not 
been  again  called  upon  to  consider  the  subject.  Two  of  our 
wealthy  citizens  had,  however,  in  the  mean  while,  offered  the 
heirs  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for  the 
estate,  and  their  offer  had  been  accepted.  Two  costly  dwell- 


10 


CITY  DOCUMENT.  —  No.  56. 


mgs,  it  is  understood,  will  soon  be  erected  where  for  the  last 
century  and  a  quarter  has  stood  this  handsome  and  now 
venerable  abode.  It  has  been  so  long  one  of  the  distinguishing 
features  of  Boston ;  we  have  so  few  ancient  or  historical  edi¬ 
fices ;  its  associations  with  provincial  days,  with  Washington, 
Lafayette,  and  numberless  events  and  personages  of  the  great¬ 
est  interest,  are  so  precious  both  to  the  patriot  and  the  anti¬ 
quarian  ;  it  has  moreover  so  many  intrinsic  claims  to  admiration 
for  its  elegance  of  design  and  beauty  of  proportion,  within  as 
well  as  without,  that  its  destruction  will  be  a  source  of  pro¬ 
found  regret  to  the  city,  and  we  may  say  it  without  the  charge 
of  exaggeration,  to  the  whole  country ;  not  to  this  generation 
alone,  but  to  those  that  are  to  follow  us. 

Should  it  be  deemed  enough  of  an  object  to  preserve  it  upon 
another  site,  we  are  given  to  understand  that  it  can  be  taken 
down  and  apart  and  put  up  again  at  a  cost  of  seventeen  thou¬ 
sand  dollars,  including  the  piling,  foundations,  grading  of  the 
lot,  and  fences.  This  estimate,  based  upon  proposals  made  to 
our  Committee  by  reliable  persons,  who  stand  ready  to  make 
good  their  figures,  is  believed  to  cover  every  possible  expense 
attending  the  removal  and  reconstruction.  Indeed,  we  have 
been  informed  by  gentlemen  not  of  the  Committee,  that  it  can 
be  accomplished  for  twelve  thousand  dollars.  We  prefer, 
however,  to  state  the  largest  amount,  to  prevent  any  possibility 
of  disappointment.  We  have  already  been  offered  a  contri¬ 
bution  towards  the  expense  of  six  thousand  dollars,  and  we 
feel  great  confidence  that  public-spirited  individuals  will  sub¬ 
scribe  enough  more  in  addition  to  the  sum  of  six  thousand  dol¬ 
lars,  which  we  recommend  the  City  Council  to  appropriate  by 
the  order  attached  to  our  report,  to  effect  the  object.  The 
Committee  to  have  charge  of  the  removal  should  not  commence 
operations  until  assured  of  this  assistance  on  the  part  of  indi¬ 
viduals  at  large. 

Various  spots  have  been  proposed  for  its  new  location,  differ¬ 
ent  purposes  to  which  it  might  be  appropriated  consistently  with 


HANCOCK  HOUSE. 


11 


the  main  object  —  its  preservation  as  an  historical  monument  of 
the  first  signer  of  the  Declaration.  As  a  guard-house  for  the 
Common  and  Garden  Police  on  Flag-staff  Hill,  on  the  knoll,  at 
the  foot  of  the  parade-ground,  or  between  the  Cemetery  and 
Tremont  Street,  it  could  be  made  useful ;  but  there  are  preju¬ 
dices,  perhaps  well  grounded,  against  erections  of  any  descrip¬ 
tion  on  the  Common.  By  the  popular  vote  of  1859,  no  build¬ 
ing  but  a  city  hall  or  for  horticultural  purposes  can  be  erected 
on  the  Garden.  But  this  would  not  prevent  its  being  placed 
on  a  line  with  the  greenhouse,  ecpiidistant  from  the  centre 
gate  on  the  other  side,  to  be  used  in  part  as  a  residence  for  the 
gardener,  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  tools,  or  other  articles  need¬ 
ed  for  a  garden  ;  the  principal  apartments  being  dedicated  to 
the  pictures.  The  family  of  the  gardener,  without  any  cost  of 
maintenance,  would  have  the  charge  of  the  property ;  and 
draped  in  ivy  or  the  Virginia-creeper,  with  its  delicate  green  in 
summer,  and  rich  crimson  in  winter,  —  surrounded  with  lilacs  of 
the  stock  now  standing  about  it,  and  with  other  shrubbery, — 
it  would  not  intercept  the  view,  or  mar  the  landscape,  but  add 
much  to  the  general  effect. 

This,  on  the  score  of  economy,  is  the  preference  of  a  small 
portion  of  our  Committee  ;  much  the  larger  number  would  prefer 
a  different  location.  Nearly  an  acre  of  ground  has  been. offered 
in  Brookline,  a  spot  on  Bunker  Hill  has  been  proposed,  but  these 
are  out  of  town,  and  not  accessible  to  the  public.  Some  spot 
on  Dorchester  Heights  has  also  been  suggested,  and  the  lot  be¬ 
longing  to  the  city,  at  the  corner  of  Newbury  and  Berkley  Streets 
been  considered,  but  the  high  buildings  in  that  immediate  vicin¬ 
ity  offer  an  objection.  The  most  eligible  lot,  and  that  which  we 
recommend,  is  the  corner  of  Newbury  and  Clarendon  Streets, 
opposite  the  southerly  end  of  the  lot  given  by  the  State  to  the 
Natural  History  and  Polytechnic  Societies.  The  Commissioners 
of  the  State  Lands,  to  whom  application  was  made  by  our  Com¬ 
mittee,  received  the  suggestion  with  much  favor,  and  gave  us 
encouragement  to  hope,  that  if  the  plan  met  the  approbation  of 


12 


CITY  DOCUMENT.  — No.  56. 


his  Excellency  the  Governor,  they  would  suffer  the  building 
to  be  placed  at  the  spot  indicated,  on  a  lot  of  about  nine  thou¬ 
sand  square  feet.  It  was,  of  course,  understood,  that  if  the 
legislature,  when  convened,  should  .disapprove,  the  building 
was  to  be  removed.  Upon  consultation,  no  objection  was 
made ;  and  all  seemed  willing  to  repose  that  confidence  in  the 
wisdom  and  patriotism  of  Massachusetts  to  assume  the  risk  and 
responsibility  involved  without  hesitation .  There  was  a  convic¬ 
tion  in  the  minds  of  some  of  us,  that  due  respect  would  be  paid 
to  the  appropriation  of  the  proceeds  of  the  Back  Bay  Lands 
to  educational  purposes,  in  making  this  disposition  of  a  small 
portion  of  its  area  to  an  historical  cabinet,  and  moreover,  as 
an  additional  attraction  it  would  tend  to  enhance  the  value  of 
the  territory,  and  swell  the  aggregate  to  be  realized  from  sales. 
In  reply  to  a  written  application  for  permission  to  occupy  the 
lots  proposed  on  sufferance,  the  communications  annexed  to  our 
report  was  this  day  received.  If  the  City  Council  confide  the 
subject  to  our  Committee  with  full  powers  to  the  limited  extent 
proposed,  it  is  probable  that  some  arrangement  may  yet  be 
made  for  the  preservation  of  this  time-honored  edifice. 

Your  Committee,  assured  that  public  opinion  would  hold  the 
City  Council  to  strict  account  if  it  neglected  any  reasonable  effort 
to  accomplish  the  desired  object,  recommend  the  passage  of 
the  accompanying  order. 

THOMAS  C.  AMORY,  Jr., 
SYLVANUS  A.  DENIO, 
JOHN  S.  TYLER, 

WILLIAM  CARPENTER, 
GRANVILLE  MEARS, 

,  J.  T.  BRADLEE, 

HORACE  B.  FISHER, 
LEWIS  J.  BIRD. 


HANCOCK  HOUSE. 


13 


Ordered  :  That  Six  Thousand  Dollars  be  appropriated  to¬ 
wards  the  removal  and  re-construction  of  the  Hancock  House, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Committee  on  that  subject ;  provided , 
whatever  other  sum  is  needed  for  the  purpose  be  subscribed  by 
citizens  at  large ;  the  said  six  thousand  dollars  to  be  charged  to 
the  Reserve  Fund. 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Office  of  Commissioners  on  Public  Lands, 
State  House,  Boston,  June  4,  1863. 

Thomas  C.  Amort,  Jr.,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  City 
Council : 

Sir  :  In  reference  to  your  communication  to  us  of  the  30th 
ultimo,  we  have  the  honor  to  reply  that  the  powers  conferred 
on  this  Board  do  not  allow  us  to  authorize  an  occupation  of 
land  for  the  purpose  proposed,  and  that  the  proceeds  of  sales 
of  all  the  lands  belonging  to  the  Commonwealth  in  the  Back 
Bay,  have  already  been  appropriated  by  the  Legislature  for 
specific  purposes.  In  case  the  City  shall  deem  it  worth  while 
to  assume  the  responsibility  of  the  measure,  we  shall  not  object 
to  the  placing  of  the  Hancock  House  upon  a  suitable  lot  of 
land,  with  the  understanding  that  it  shall  be  removed  by  the 
City,  in  case  the  Legislature  at  its  next  session  shall  not  pro¬ 
vide  otherwise.  It  being  understood  that  the  whole  subject  is 
left  open  to  the  independent  action  of  the  Legislature.  We 
think  it  right  to  add,  that  in  our  judgment  the  site  suggested 
by  you  is  not  the  best  adapted  to  the  purpose  proposed. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servants, 

FRANKLIN  HAVEN,  I  Commissioners 
EDWARD  C.  PURDY,  V  on 
CHARLES  HALE,  )  Public  Lands. 


' 


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